These Final Hours
by Redpanda14
Summary: People say that when you know you're about to die, your life flashes before you. But sometimes that's not entirely true, sometimes the risk alone to save the ones closest to you is worth the sacrifice. McShep. Set during S4.
1. New Hope

**A/N: **_The first thing I would like to say is thank you oh so much to my Beta' ribbon_purple, who without, this story would be a mess. Also, this story is complete, so I know all the twists and turns even if some of them are evil, so everything should wrap up nicely by the end. So every few days I'll post the next chapter. Story contains McShep (Rodney and John pairing), so if that's something you're not into then please move away from this story. Reviews are always loved and welcomed, good or bad. Besides that, enjoy. _

* * *

"What do you want Radek?"

Rodney McKay didn't hold back his familiar tone of resentment towards Zelenka as he peered over his shoulder. It wasn't often that McKay managed to get some time to himself, saving the world wasn't what it used to be so when he got the chance, he didn't like being interrupted.

"Just seeing what you're doing."

Grumbling under his breath, praying that the annoying man would leave him alone to his work. McKay continued analysing the data from the simulation he'd just finished running on a piece of Ancient machinery. The device was a miniaturized version of the Asgard Time Dilation Field, but the mathematics and physics behind the device were beginning to give even McKay a headache. It was one of many he'd set in working order while being Super Rodney and now he was determined to at least figure out how to turn it on.

As usual, Zelenka refused to take the fact that Rodney was very obviously ignoring him for meaning Rodney really didn't want company and pulled up a chair to sit beside, peaking over his shoulder as McKay studied the vast complexity of the equations. "Have you tried creating a stable geomagnetic disturbance inside the device?" he asked.

Rolling his eyes, McKay spun his chair around and glared at the smaller man, "No, of course not, Radek," he answered sarcastically, "Of course I've tried that. It didn't work."

"Well then how about..."

McKay raised his index finger in the air cutting him off short. "Do you mind?!" he hissed in a harsh whisper, "I'm perfectly capable of solving this myself, thank you very much. Instead of breathing garlic down the back of neck, maybe, perhaps pick one or the other you could work on those calculations I asked you for hours ago? That is, if you don't have anything better to do then sit there disturbing _my_ work. Or would you rather me e-mail everyone those pictures I caught of you kissing the ZPM?"

The Czech stood up quickly, his body radiating fury and stormed out of the room, muttering incoherently under his breath, although something in his mannerism gave McKay the distinct impression that he wouldn't be disturbing him anytime soon.

'_Now that's that sorted out,"_ Rodney mused with a smug grin.

Picking up the ancient device, Rodney moved across the room, opened up his laptop and connected the device to the Ancient Database.

"Let's see what you've got for me,"he spoke aloud suddenly feeling cheerful as the computer came to life and rows of ancient text appeared on the screen.

McKay immediately began searching through the database for anything that might help him complete the device. Hours later, he was still looking.

"You stupid piece of...!" he yelled, slamming his hands down on the keyboard in annoyance. A second later, the screen beeped. Rodney practically lunged for the mouse, eyes lightened up in hope as he read the screen.

McKay's fingers fumbled as he turned on his intercom. "Sam, Sheppard, I think you two need to see this."

*

"You found what?" John asked, attempting to understand what Rodney was trying to say through all the techno-babble and frantic hand gestures.

"How many times do I have to explain this to you?" Rodney asked him, clearly frustrated with John's stupidity, continuing to pace back and forth along the length of floor between his laptop and Carter. "Okay, I was searching through the Database hoping to find some information regarding the device I've been working on. And well, I clicked a few buttons and... sort of hit the keyboard."

"Yes, I think we understood that, Rodney. But what's this about a lab?" Sam asked him as she leant back on one of the desks.

"As I've been saying, Rodney continued, I came across a hidden file in Ayiana's research that mentioned a secret laboratory on M4F-788 that's aim was to prevent cellular degeneration in humans."

Carter and John gave Rodney a blank stare.

"Carson, we can save him. Well, not Carson, rather the cloned Carson." Rodney explained. Was he making any sense? God he hoped so. There wasn't anything worse than himself look like an idiot in front of Sheppard.

When it came right down to it, making sense wasn't one of his best traits when he was onto something. But when he did, somehow it manage to make sense in his own mind, but in reality it was just a bunch of techno-babble that John didn't really understand until it was dumbed down for him.

"Do you mean," Sam interrupted, "that this machine can stop cells from breaking down in the human body?"

"From what I've read in her research, then yes." But I won't know for sure until I can see the lab for myself."

"I'm sorry Rodney, but it's too dangerous. You know as well as I do that there have been sightings of Wraith Cruisers in the area, and I can't risk it right now." Sam opened her mouth as if to say more, but decided not to and closed it, instead leant back on one of the tabletops.

Rodney pushed past John, "Please, I owe this to him. I lost Carson once, and I will not lose him again. I can't bear to go through that a second time. Samantha, Please."

Sam's body continued to face the door until she briskly turned around. "Rodney, I know how much you want to save your friend, but I can't let you do this. Maybe another time, once the Wraith leave the area, maybe then I'll consider your proposal. Until then, you are to continue your normal routine."

"Please..." Rodney begged.

"I'll go," John volunteered, from where he stood behind Rodney. "We'll take a Puddle Jumper and use the invisibility cloak. If there's any sign of the Wraith I'll get him out of there right away."

For a few moments, Sam stood frozen thinking through the idea. "Permission granted," she finally agreed. "Pack your bags and be back ready in one hour and take Ronon, Teyla and Dr. Keller with you. But it there is any sign of trouble, just one hint. You get out of there straight away. Understand?"

"Word for word," John said glancing briefly at Rodney giving him an encouraging smile.

Once Sam had left, John walked up to Rodney, giving him a friendly nudge followed by a brief chuckle. "You owe me for this, you realize?"

"I don't owe you anything, John Sheppard," Rodney replied as he directed Sheppard out of the room in a heave-ho motion. "Off you go, I've got things to do."

John placed his hands on Rodney's shoulders and whispered into his ear. "Thank you John, it was so good of you to help."

As John left the room, Rodney watched him leave. "Thank you," he muttered but John was well out of hearing range by now.

Rodney placed his hand over the spot Sheppard had put his; it felt all numb and tingly right on his shoulder. It was utterly stupid and illogical to be in love with his best friend for all this time, he of all people should know that. He was a part of the Air Force which made it impossible because of the rules that prevented that sort of thing, and anyway, it's not like he'd have the slightest chance anyway. All the time they were on off world missions, he would watch girls in there hundreds swarm on John's charming smile, drooling over him like mad. And Rodney had fallen for the same trap.

After a few minutes he grabbed all the equipment he'd need for the trip.

*

"Dial the gate." Sam ordered and watched as the Puddle Jumper slowly descended from above as the Stargate exploded into life. She never expected to be given the opportunity of being in charge of the Atlantis expedition, but definitely didn't expect how difficult the job would be. But neither could she shake off the feeling that something more was going on between Sheppard and McKay. From the day she'd seen both of them in action, Sam understood why Sheppard had chosen McKay to be a part of his team; no matter how much he whined and complained, and panicked under pressure, he always found a way to pull through. But after a while, she began to notice more. No matter how badly McKay treated Sheppard, he never flinched or backed away. He seemed to get closer as if he enjoyed it. And then there was the matter of always spending time together on their hours off. So many times she had caught them racing their cars down the hallways of the city bumping each other around playfully.

A few weeks ago, they tried to evacuate an entire village after Atlantis's long range sensors had picked up two Wraith Hive ships moving towards the planet. They managed to get all the villagers out just as the Wraith Darts surged towards the planet, but Sheppard and McKay got badly wounded from one of the weapons fired upon them. Sheppard risked his life to push McKay through the Stargate just before it closed. By the time McKay reached Atlantis he was in a frenzy panic, demanded they dial to get him straight away and she allowed it. He couldn't get through the gate quick enough when the wormhole established, a few minutes later the gate fired into life once again and Rodney came running back with John unconscious over the back of his shoulders. A few Wraith stun blasts shot through the gate behind them, one hitting Radek most likely to Rodney's amusement, but at the moment he was too busy struggling to keep a hold of John.

After the wormhole collapsed Rodney insisted her to let him wait in the infirmary until he woke up.

Either both of them we're completely oblivious to how the other felt about them, and they choose not to believe it or ignore it. Whichever way, she hoped they'd do something about it soon.

'_We'll contact Atlantis in an hour. Sheppard out.' _

The Puddle Jumper moved forward and disappeared into the wormhole, leaving the main control room in silence.

_To be continued.._


	2. Sand and Glass

**A/N: **_Thank you to all the positive responses so far! I hope the rest of the story lives up to your expectation. Again, thank you my amazing beta' ribbon_purple off my Livejournal. Reviews are loved as well! I'd like to know what you think, and I'll update the next chapter in a few days. Enjoy._

* * *

The arid desert seemed to stretch out for miles as pillars of jagged rock rose up from the sand beneath and into the lucid blue sky above. The red sun blazed down upon the planet's surface, the rocks that made up the pillars reflected a faint glow as they absorbed the heat.

"Sensors aren't picking up any Wraith on or around the planet, which means we're good to go." Rodney shut down the life signs detector on the screen followed by a loud yawn that broke the abrupt silence in the Jumper.

Teyla shifted in her seat. "Where exactly is this Laboratory?" she asked McKay as he brought up another screen.

"Not sure, but I'm picking up faint traces of energy somewhere in the middle of the desert."

"Why would the ancients build a laboratory in the middle of the desert?" Ronon stood up to stretch.

"I suppose you don't understand the phrase _secret _laboratory?" Rodney answered, making sure he emphasized on the word _secret_.

"Rodney, Ronon play nice," Sheppard interrupted.

Making her way to the front compartment, Jennifer came to stand beside Teyla. "How much longer until we reach the lab?" she asked tiredly. Ever since Carson, the _real_ Carson died, Rodney had found her multiple times asleep in her lab in search for a cure to stop his clone from deteriorating into nothing. Maybe she liked him, but Rodney had his suspicions that she wanted to be replaced because she couldn't handle the pressure of being the lead medic.

"About one minute. If my readings are right, the energy source is right down there." He pointed directly ahead to an empty section of the desert.

"I don't see anything," Jennifer stated.

"Again, it's a _secret _laboratory. It's not going to have a giant neon sign flashing directly above it saying 'Secret Laboratory here, please feel free to enter whenever you please' is it?" why was he repeating himself again?

A minute later, John set the Puddle Jumper down on the desert's surface.

Picking up Jennifer's equipment, Teyla opened up the rear hatch, allowing sand and intense heat to rush into the Jumper. A sudden gust of wind hit Rodney in the face allowing tiny specks of sand to get into his eyes.

"I can't see," Rodney complained. "I'm going to go blind!"

"Oh quit whining." Jennifer walked out behind him giving him her water canister allowing him to wash the sand out.

"We shouldn't stay here too long, McKay how's those readings coming?" John said, as he shaded his eyes with his hand and turned to look out towards the jumper's hatch and the world beyond; inspecting the area.

'_Where the hell is it?' _Rodney asked himself, searching frantically for source of the energy.

"Rodney, Where is it?" John repeated.

"It has to be here." Rodney answered confused as he stood stationary inside the jumper. He had no idea why he couldn't find the entrance.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Teyla asked. "Perhaps we travelled too far."

Rodney paced back and forth in along the grated floor of the jumper's interior, oblivious to the grumbling of his teammates as he unconsciously pushed them back against the curved walls in an attempt to avoid being run into by him. This had to be the place. "Of course we're in the right place! There are no other signs of energy on the planet; whatever is here should be just around somewhere."

Exiting the jumper, Rodney cautiously began stepping on the sand examining the readings on the device he was carrying.

In an instant Rodney was gone, just like that. One second he was standing there, the next he's gone in the blink of an eye.

"Rodney!" There was panic in John's voice. "Where are you?"

No reply.

"Rodney!" he called again, this time louder as fear gripped him.

Suddenly Rodney's head poked out from the sand, seemingly unharmed and very excited. "I found the way in," he grinned.

"How is that...?" Teyla gasped.

"Possible?" Rodney interrupted, "It's some sort of cloak. You can just step through it. But watch out for the stairs, they look like they go down quite a long way."

"Is it safe?" Jennifer asked reluctantly.

"Of course it's not safe! I tripped down ten steps and hit by knee, do you have any idea how fragile my bones are? One set of stairs could snap my body in half." Rodney was slowly descending into a panic now. "I don't even know how I survived; I could have snapped my neck or even worse died!"

"Unfortunately," Ronon mumbled under his breath but Rodney heard him.

"What did you say King Kong?" Rodney replied back.

"_Rodney_!" John interrupted and immediately he stopped.

Grabbing some of Jennifer's equipment, each of them followed Rodney carefully through the cloaking device as it absorbed them as they went through. No wonder nobody would ever find this place, the sandy texture the cloak imitated its surroundings perfectly, which made it quite positive that no one else had probably found it until now.

Step by step, Rodney led the way down into the dark passageway. The lights on their P-90's somewhat shedding some light into the inky blackness.

At last they reached the bottom and the moment Rodney's foot hit the floor, the room sprung into life just as the city had done when they first arrived in Atlantis. The room was at least ten square meters large, the walls and ceiling were made of some form of glass because you could see the sand directly behind it as if the room could cave in on them at any second.

Even though the glass was transparent, it seemed to shed some sort of luminescent light that filled the room.

"Oh my god." Jennifer cried, mouth hanging open in gawp as she examined the contents of the lab.

The only objects inside the room were a data consol and an examining table fitted with some kind of scanner. The edges of the room were lined with medical equipment that she'd never seen before, but there was also a few large glass containers that held dead species of alien ife forms.

'_This is it__,__' _Rodney thought as he rushed to the consol and began flicking through the information on the screen.

Teyla and Ronon stood guard at the bottom to the stairs while Sheppard and Dr. Keller brought carried a box of equipment over to where Rodney was standing.

"Well," Jennifer tapped Rodney on his back anxiously. "What is it?"

Rodney didn't turn, instead he held up one of his fingers in that 'I'm busy, I'll be with you in a minute' sign.

"Well?" John insisted.

"Ayiana was working on a way to prolong the Ancients pre-ascended lives and I think she succeeded."

Dr. Keller blinked her eyes in disbelief. "But the Ancients were human? You're not telling me he found a way to slow down the cellular degeneration in the human body?"

"Close, but it doesn't just slow it down. From what I can tell, Ayiana found a way to stop it altogether. It's the ultimate elixir of life: never to grow old, never to age, and barring any bizarre accidents, live forever."

Jennifer and Rodney smiled at each other and hugged. "We did it," Keller said smiling.

In the overwhelming rush of discovery, Rodney lost himself in the moment, and without thinking, he let go of Jennifer and turned directly around to John, pulling the taller man to him and grasping him tightly around the chest. It took a few seconds for Rodney to realize what he'd done and how very close his lower body was to John's.

'_Shit!' _Rodney thought, immediately letting go of Sheppard who just stood there seemingly unphased.

"What's the bad news?" Ronon asked from the back of the room.

Avoiding eye contact with John, Rodney continued. "The only problem is this magic bullet is a form of radiation."

"Is it safe for us be here?" Teyla asked; it was no use lying to her even though he wouldn't even consider it in the first place, she had a knack for knowing when somebody wasn't telling the truth.

"As long as we're not exposing ourselves to it for too long, we should be fine. I've never seen this type of radiation before so I'm not quite sure what the effects of it might be but I'd estimate we have about an hour before it becomes harmful." Rodney answered her then turned to look at Keller, "Now, Dr. Keller if you wouldn't mind assisting me in disconnecting the device, we've got a patient to save."

During the time it took to disassemble the device and pack it away to take back with them for further study, John was completely silent. In fact, he hadn't moved since Rodney let go of him; standing still as a statue, expression unreadable.

'_What the hell were you thinking, McKay?'_ Rodney thought,scolding himself over and over again for invading John's personal bubble. Right now, he couldn't tell if he was feeling more uncomfortable of if John was.

Packing up the last of the equipment into one of the boxes, Ronon and Teyla helped Dr. Keller carry the final parts of the device back up the very long staircase, back to the surface.

Rodney soon followed finally escaping the claustrophobic environment of the lab, John not far behind him.

Jennifer was securing the device when Rodney reached the Jumper. "Be careful with that!"

"You're so pedantic Rodney, I'm perfectly able secure the device."

Rodney found himself glaring at Jennifer annoyed. "To hell you are."

In one swift motion he bumped her aside giving him full responsibility for the device, accidentally allowing it to hit the interior wall of the jumper. "Look what you made me do! Have you any idea how delicate this piece of technology is?"

"As a matter of fact..." Jennifer begun but was interrupted.

"We all set?" John asked, turning his head to look around the compartment, checking for any problems before takeoff.

"As set as we'll ever be..." Rodney muttered to himself just before Jennifer slapped him on the arm. "Ow!"

John turned his head towards Rodney and raised one questioning eyebrows. "Something you'd like to say?"

Rodney just shook his head. "No, now go. We have a doctor to save."

_To be continued.._


	3. Downward Fall

**A/N: **_This chapters a bit short, but it starts to build up from here. Thank you to everyone who has put me on story alert and took the time to read my story. Reviews are always loved positive or negitive. Another thank you to my magnificent Beta' ribbon_purple. Enjoy_

* * *

Night had fallen upon Atlantis by the time Sheppard and his team had arrived back. Rodney was busy reassembling the device down in the infirmary while Dr. Keller began preparing herself and her medical staff for the removal and transfer of Carson Beckett's clone from stasis.

Making the final adjustments to the device, Rodney clasped his hands together. He was as ready as he would ever be. John and Sam stood to the side of the room, making sure they were out of Rodney's way as they watched to make sure nothing went wrong.

'_Here goes nothing.' _

"Jennifer, I'm ready up here. How about you?"

"We're all ready down here McKay," Jennifer replied.

Jennifer pressed the panel next to the stasis pod housing Carson Beckett's body, deactivating it. A moment later, the chamber released the doctor and his body tipped forward into the arms of two members of the medical staff who lifted him onto a gurney.

Keller quickly bent over to check his pulse. "His heart rates low, give him 2cc of epinephrine."

One of the nurses quickly injected him with the drug which took effect almost immediately.

"Okay, let's get him out of here!" Jennifer said.

Running besides the gurney, Jennifer kept an eye on Carson's life sign readings. His body was already deteriorating quickly fast; they had maybe twenty minutes before he would be gone forever.

Taking a sharp right, Jennifer and one of the female nurses opened up the transporter door. They managed to get the gurney inside with barely enough room for the three of them. Nurse Biro input the infirmary's floor and immediately the transporter doors closed. Moments later, the doors reopened and they hurtled down the hall toward the infirmary.

"Get ready McKay!" Keller yelled out.

"I'm ready!" he snapped back.

Seconds later, They arrived and proceeded to lift Carson from the gurney, placing him on the examination table that Rodney had hooked up with the ancient device.

"Everybody get back," Rodney commanded, hope this device better work.

'_Please let this work.' _

McKay pressed the a few buttons on the Ancient device and watched as it hummed into life, emitting a strange a purple light that seemed to scan Carson's body before shutting off. A white liquid travelled along a tube running from the top of the scanner into a vile, the chemical designed to match Beckett's specific DNA, and turned itself off. D. Keller rushed forward, filled a syringe with the drug – as the instructions dictated – and injected her patient.

Dr. Keller checked Carson's life sign. "It's worked! His cells have stopped deteriorating and he's stabilizing."

"Good work McKay," Sam congratulated, as she patted Rodney on his back. "Keep me posted Dr. Keller."

"Will do..." Dr. Keller broke off, her smile turning into a look of shock as she watched in horror as Carson's body started to break apart in front of her eyes.

The entire left-hand side of his skull caved in with a sickening crunch as if it had been was run over. All over his body the skin tightened and stretched, bones broke through the skin at jagged angles as other parts of his skin started ripping apart, revealing the organs beneath. Then all at once it stopped. Beckett's body lay on the bed, mutilated and grotesque and still; his face twisted and unrecognizable, deformed to the point that it was too hideous to look at.

Rodney couldn't believe what had happened. It couldn't have happened. It just couldn't have!

'_Carson...' _

"Rodney?" John asked quietly, turning to place a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, but Rodney immediately brushed it off.

For what seemed forever, Rodney just stared at what was left of Carson, eventually he found himself unable to look at him any longer.

Right now he didn't know what he was feeling, was it anger or confusion? He'd checked, double checked and triple checked the device before it was used, and out of all the things that could've gone wrong, this was not one of them. What good was his maths and science now if he couldn't save his friend?

"Rodney," Sam whispered, "There was nothing you could have done to save him."

Rodney shook his head in disbelief, pushed past John and Sam, trying to get out, get away. But just as he reached the door, John grabbed him by the shoulder again.

"Fuck off and leave me alone!" Rodney yelled. With one swift punch, Rodney had John tilting dizzily on his feet, causing him to let go of his hold on Rodney. Seeing a chance for escape, Rodney ran off down the corridor.

Rubbing his face, John followed him. "I'll get him," he called back to the others.

Rushing after him, John caught sight of Rodney headed towards the teleport. "Rodney!" he yelled, but it was too late. The doors closed and Rodney was gone.

"Zelenka," John turned on his intercom.

The Czech's voice filled John's ear, "_What can I do for you, __Colonel__?" _

"I need you to scan the city and tell me where Rodney is."

"_Just a second..." _John waited, listening to the Czech type something on his keyboard followed by the sound of a short beep._"The last sign of him was travelling__ toward__ the Eastern Pier before the internal sensors lost him. That area of the city's sensors are damaged, there's no way to tell where he could have gone." _

"Thanks Zelenka."

"_No problem. And can I say..." _John cut power to the intercom.

"Eastern Piers it is then." John mumbled, stepping into the transporter and pressing the screen for his destination. God he hoped Rodney was alright.

_To be continued.._


	4. Revelations

**A/N: **_Sorry for taking so long to update, my Beta for this story has been busy so she's only been able to give me a little bit at time. It's just taking me a lot longer to get it from her than I first expected, but no matter, this story is still going. And I hope you enjoy this next chapter, reviews are loved. _

* * *

Stars slowly glistened into life above Atlantis as Rodney McKay sat on the very edge of the Eastern Pier, legs dangling over the edge while he looked out into the distance. It was so quite down here, almost peaceful. The soothing laps of the water crashing against the pier spraying water up into the air giving the night an almost cool touch.

After all the worlds he'd saved from the Wraith and Replicators and who knows what else, he couldn't save someone close to him.

He'd never felt so alone before in his life.

After all these years at in Atlantis, no one had seen Rodney cry, and he preferred it that way. For all his bluster and melodramatics, he was actually a very private person when it came to his feelings. It was one of the reasons he preferred not to get too close to people and why he chose to visit one of the most remote locales in the city when he needed to think...or to grieve. The pier around him was the same place he said goodbye to Carson the first time. Memories of that day flooded his mind remembering the moment the tumour exploded killing Carson in the process.

Carson had meant the world to Rodney. He was probably one of the first decent friends he'd ever had, and now he was gone again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rodney watched as someone approached his position then quietly sat down beside him; long legs and heavy combat boots hanging over the edge of the pier next to his own.

"Go away," Rodney managed to say through a few tears.

John didn't move. He just sat there, looking out into the distance, not saying a word or even glancing in Rodney's direction (Rodney could only guess John was giving him time to pull himself together).

"It's beautiful isn't it?" John commented. It was more of a statement than a question.

Rodney cracked open his left eye – the one closest to John – to look at him; the one thing that meant more to him than anything ever had before.

The light from the two moons shone down on them brightly, making John's eyes sparkle; messy hair dancing in the wind as it rose up from the ocean. Even now Rodney still wasn't sure what attracted him to John, perhaps it was the way he was willing to risk anything to protect the ones around him.

Rodney would've have admitted his feeling a long time ago, but each time he tried, fear swept over him about the possibility of being rejected by his friend.

Wiping his face with the sleeve of his jumper, Rodney turned to John. "What do you want?" he snapped just wanting John to leave him alone.

John's attention shifted from the ocean to Rodney. "What do you think I want? "he asked looking into Rodney's eyes. "I care about you Rodney, I've never seen you so upset before and I came to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine," Rodney lied.

"Bullshit Rodney," John grated out, gaining Rodney's full attention, "I know you, and I can tell when you're lying. So don't you give me that crap; saying you're fine when you damn well know you're not!"

Rodney opened his mouth to state he was perfectly fine, even though he wasn't, but John wasn't finished yet,

"I'm your friend Rodney," he continued, "and friends don't lie to each other. Why couldn't you just come talk to me instead of running off - _after hitting __me_ I might I add - to the one of the furthest parts of the city, where no one was likely to find you?"

Gathering himself together, Rodney spoke, his voice nervous trying to think of a logical argument. "You're wasting your time, John. Don't bother me with the 'everything will be alright speech' because it's not going to work on me."

"You know Rodney," John's tone was almost harsh, "You can be such an asshole sometimes. I didn't come out here to give you a pep talk. I came here as a friend _to talk,_ that's it. And no matter how pissy you get, I will not walk away until I know you're okay!"

That's the John he knew. Never backing down no matter what, it was another thing that attracted John to Rodney, his sheer will power to do anything for his friends.

Rodney didn't say anything for a while, instead he found himself staring at John as the moonlight shined down on his face.

"As smart as I hate to admit I am, if I can't save my friends what good am I?" Rodney asked softly then watched as John's face turn from serious concern to outright anger.

John grabbed hold of Rodney's shirt and forcefully pulled him closer, so that only a spare few inches separated them, "Don't you ever say that again," he said.......,

_Say what? What was going on? Why __was he__ so angry? __Rodney wondered, a little shocked by the force of John's reaction. _

John closed his eyes and calmed himself down, then opened them again and spoke in a gentle tone that Rodney had never heard before. "Don't you ever say you're not worth it, Rodney, because you are. Even if you don't believe anyone else thinks that, I am still ... you know ... you are worth it to me. And as far as I care, that's all that matters."

Rodney went to wipe away the tears that had found their way down his cheek, but before he knew it, John was using his hands to wipe them away for him.

His skin was just as Rodney had imagined it. Rough at first, but became softer as it moved down his face eventually halting at his chin. Those hands were capable of almost anything, and there was an odd beauty in them that made him wonder just what else they would be good at. Rodney indulged briefly in wondering what they would feel like on his body, running over skin.

Rodney held back everything, trying to cover up his weak state, was this actually happening? Never in his entire time knowing John had he spoke to Rodney like that. Slowly, he let his head fall onto John's shoulder. John delicately ran one hand through Rodney's hair while putting the other one around back to comfort him. John placed his other arm around Rodney keeping him close in a hug, the warmth from his body seeping into Rodney's. It felt as if John would never let him go.

"It's okay," he whispered quietly into his ear.

Rodney pulled out of John's grasp. "Okay?" he snapped. "It's not okay, John. It'll never be okay! That stupid machine was just another ancient failure, and I should have noticed before it was too late. But It is too late now, isn't it?

John might say this. Actually, it's very likely he would but Rodney isn't going to take the easy way out. He'll fight John on this one – with lots of details as to why it is his fault, etc.

Once Rodney had finished crying, he raised his head up and looked back to John. "Thanks,"

The corners of John's mouth rose slightly giving off a shallow smile. "No problem."

Suddenly, Without warning the city started to shake violently, causing Rodney to lose his balance and tilt forward almost falling over the edge of the pier except that John caught hold of him at the last minute, yanking Rodney back, flat against the deck covering Rodney with his body.

They both watched in horror as the top of the central tower collapsed in a flash of fire. Large chunks of the tower tumbled down smashing into the lower parts of the city. Rodney couldn't believe his eyes, how was that possible? In a matter of seconds the top half of the central tower had been obliterated.

Move this sentence to a new paragraph and give me details! Very few writers are brave enough to completely blow up the central tower (don't ask me why). This is a big moment. Make me want to cry in horror/grief.

Seconds later Sheppard turned on his intercom in a state of panic. Rodney watched his fingers fumble to turn it on.

"What the hell just happened?" John asked.

Rodney stood up, keeping as much distance between himself and the edge of pier as possible. After nearly becoming a victim to it, he certainly didn't want to be close to it again in case there was another shockwave.

Rodney heard Sheppard's intercom come alive filled with the sound of gunfire in the background.

"_Colonel, we're under attack," _it was Major Lorne's voice on the other end.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Rodney panicked; this was not good, not good at all.

"Be quite McKay," Sheppard snapped causing Rodney to shut up. He was directly next to John so he could hear the entire conversation.

"_Dr. Keller was putting away Carson's body when," _he got cut off by more gunfire but quickly continued. _"It transformed."_

Rodney turned on his intercom to listen to what was going on.

"Are you telling me, Carson's _dead _body turned into some sort of creature and attacked Dr. Keller?" Sheppard said in disbelief.

"_Not just attacked her Colonel, but he took a huge chunk of her skin out with __its__, his teeth." _More gunfire, but this time Rodney could hear screaming in the background.

"What's going on Major? Who's shooting?" this time it was Rodney that spoke to him.

"_When Dr. Keller was bitten, the guards and infirmary staff tried to stop the creature, but bullets didn't too do anything, it seemed to just absorb them. Before we knew it, everyone in the room had been bitten. Next thing we know, everyone started transforming into these thing__s__!" _A sudden outburst of gunfire caused John to jump back into Rodney. There was screaming in the background before Lorne spoke again panting. _"One of the creatures escaped and got past to the central tower, the main control room is gone__, S__ir. The creatures seem to only need to bite someone__ once__ before __they turn __into one of them. It all happened to quick sir, __we didn't even know what was happening until it was too late."_

Sheppard turned to Rodney his eyes filled with fear. "Why hasn't the city locked down? I thought you set up protocols that prevented this!"

It was true, ever since the quarantine incident that almost caused the city to blow up, he had re-written the protocols so that the city would automatically lock down in the case of an outbreak.

"I did, but... I don't understand. The city should've automatically locked down at the first sign of an outbreak, but maybe the sensors couldn't tell that there was an infection." Rodney said.

"What do you mean?" Sheppard was rushing him along now.

"What I mean is," Rodney snapped annoyed that Sheppard couldn't understand something so simple, "the sensors are meant to pick up life signs from around the city, checking to make sure everyone is healthy. If they pick up any trace of an outbreak the city locks down the areas of the infection until we can clear it up."

"I get that, so why hasn't the city locked down then?" Sheppard was almost yelling.

"Because," Rodney took a few deep breaths before continuing. "The city can't pick the infection up, because there isn't an infection."

Sheppard gave Rodney a blank stare. "Clearly there is Rodney! My men are dying in there so don't you go telling me there isn't an infection!"

"That's not what I mean," how was he going to explain this quickly? "The city picks up the life signs of the living and reroutes any information to the main control room. If what Major Lorne's saying is true, then these creatures are transforming dead bodies into whatever they need to survive. And the reason the city isn't locking itself down is because anyone with the infection is dead and the city doesn't register the dead on the life signs detector."

"Fine, I'll go with that. But that still doesn't explain how the hell this happened." Sheppard stared back at Rodney with a twisted look on his face. "Wait? You're saying that everyone is turning into zombies?"

"Well, maybe there was something in that drug we injected into Carson, some sort of parasite that's capable of controlling and manipulating its host. Zombies aren't real,it's been proven scientifically impossible. The only two people capable of figuring out how to fix this are Carson and Keller, but I'd like to point out how screwed we are seeing that they're both dead! So I'm sorry if I can't be of any more help."

Rodney recognised that look on John's face, it was the one he saved for those occasions when everything seemed lost, but he wasn't going to give up.

Sheppard pressed his intercom again connecting him to Major Lorne. "Major, you and your men fall back to the East Pier now!"

"_There's too many Colonel, there everywhere. I can't..." _Lorne's voice went silent, drowned out by the sound of silence, followed by loud gunfire... then the screaming came. They'd gotten to Major Lorne.

"This is all my fault," Rodney ran his hands over his face removing all the sweat.

John looked back at Rodney shaking him violently with his hands. "This is _not _your fault. You did what any other person would do; you tried to save your friend. There was no way to know this would happen."

"Yes there was," Rodney snapped in John's face trying to get out of his clutch. "I was the one who set up the machine, I should have known if something like this was going to happen."

Letting go, John looked at deep into Rodney's eyes. "I know you're scared, I am too. But we need to get in there and help out people. Can you do that?"

Rodney nodded his head nervously.

"Good," John continued solemnly, "We need to get to the closest armoury; I don't think that my one 9mm will be enough."

As they left the pier, hurrying towards the armoury at John's usual, impossible pace, Rodney put his astoundingly genius mind to work finding them a way out of this mess. Whether or not he_ could _find a way to fix it, he had no idea but he had to try.

This was _way _out of his control.

_To be continued..._


End file.
